worldwaterandmore

All of us in the “Water Community” hold these truths to be self-evident:

1) reclaiming and reusing wastewater makes environmental and economic sense when done safely,
2) such resource recovery efforts fall flat without sufficient public support,and
3) the “yuck factor” has to be tackled with good science, strategy, and patience.

An important new study will help boost the wastewater reuse movement and weaken the Yuck! Not-In-My-Water syndrome. In January 2012, the National Academy of Sciences’ Water Science and Technology Board issued “Water Reuse: Potential for Expanding the Nation’s Water Supply Through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater” www.nas.edu (Note: I serve on the Board but was not involved in writing or reviewing the report, although I offered EPA support for the study several years ago when it was first under consideration and I was EPA Assistant Administrator for Water.)
The NAS study analyzes the scientific, technical, legal, cultural, and psychological barriers and risks. It builds the case for more reuse, analyzing real versus perceived health risks, and growing problems with water scarcity in some regions. It claims advanced treatment and reuse of wastewater can boost water supplies of coastal cities by as much as 27%. Along the way, it interjects some phrases worth noting and understanding– such as “sewage farming” (which still occurs abundantly in Mexico City) and “de facto” or unplanned reuse.

A new report highlights advancements in reclamation technology and predicts growth in treatment programs.

Reusing treated wastewater – a process rejected a decade ago as “toilet to tap” in Los Angeles – could help meet future water needs across the country, and in some cases may be safer than existing drinking supplies, according to a study released Tuesday.

The National Research Council examined challenges and benefits of reusing wastewater as water supplies dwindle and population increases.

Some 12 billion gallons of wastewater are discharged into oceans and estuaries each day, the report calculated. If that water was purified and reused, it could make up 6 percent of the nation’s water supply.

“That’s significant,” said R. Rhodes Trussell, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, which was sponsored in part by the LADWP.

“It could have an important impact for the nation’s water resources.”

Population growth – especially in Southern California, where water resources are scarce – has increased demand for water. That, coupled with the threat of global climate change, makes reuse a prime alternative, the authors say.

Pollutant analysis and treatment technology have improved in recent years, and reused water can be as safe or safer than existing drinking water supplies, the report said.

“We have a lot more confidence now than we once did,” said Trussell, who is president of a water-focused environmental engineering company in Pasadena.